19 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About "The Nanny" That Explain The Show's Style And Flair
She's the lady in red when everybody else is wearing taaaan.
One thing that probably comes to mind when you think of The Nanny is its unparalleled fashion game. The show's theme song dubs Fran the flashy girl from Flushing, and it never lets you forget that.
The series wove Fran Fine's bold personality into her outfits — it captured her style and flair through her outlandish fruit jackets, tight black skirts, and lavish gowns.
To call the show's costume design iconic is an understatement — a staggering amount of work went into the fashion on The Nanny. Here are some facts you might not know about the wildly creative styles on the series!
1. Stylist Brenda Cooper, who formerly had an acting career, had also worked on costumes with Fran Drescher on a show called Princesses. Drescher loved her style so much that she invited her to work on The Nanny, where Cooper had a lot of leeway to shop for all the colors and styles.
2. Fran’s iconic Moschino striped vest was actually first worn by Twiggy in Princesses.
3. Cooper would actually shop for 8 to 10 hours a day looking for pieces that would only be on the show once.
4. Cooper and her assistants scoured racks in Beverly Hills each week to find the latest in fashion for Fran.
5. That said, the outfits on the show were never just off the rack — they were often customized for the actors.
6. While she often got clothes for the show at Neiman Marcus, Cooper cared more about style than whether or not a piece was designer — she got pieces from KMart, resale stores, thrift shops, and garage sales.
Fran herself knows better than to shop the full retail price!
7. Cooper even styled C.C. with a jacket from a trash can.
“I once found an amazing jacket in a trash can that somebody threw out for another show, and I got it fixed up and used the jacket on C.C.," Cooper told HelloGiggles.
8. Adorned with a 4-foot train and 15-foot veil, Fran’s wedding dress cost $12,000.
9. The production team very much treated the planning of Fran’s wedding to Mr. Sheffield like that of an actual wedding.
According to Drescher, she went to actual fittings at a Beverly Hills bridal shop, picked out the flowers, and had her real-life parents on set at the chapel.
10. Drescher wore the same sequined Bob Mackie gown that Madonna wore at the 1991 Academy Awards!
She matched the look with arm-length gloves and a glitzy choker.
11. You probably already guessed, but Fran’s luxe bathrobe collection was carefully tailored and styled too.
“I always put a shoulder pad in the robe, so it had a really ’40s look to it. It was always about making it look more elegant and have more style and sass,” Cooper told HuffPost.
12. After the show wrapped, its studio sold the wardrobe to a thrift store in the San Fernando Valley. Which means that people may have original The Nanny wardrobe pieces without even knowing it!
13. According to Drescher, leopard print is Fran’s M.O.
“I think she liked leopard prints because, you know, it's kind of racy and sexy. And very Queens," she told Today. "And I think that's what her M.O. was."
14. There was a Fran Fine Formula for Drescher’s outfits on the show.
“I started off with a black silhouette: so a black turtleneck and a black short skirt, black opaque tights, and black high-heel stilettos. Then I would add color to it. Nothing would ever come from a store and go on camera without being altered in some way to accommodate her character,” Cooper told Lenny Letter.
15. Renée Taylor was a little resistant to Ma’s look at first when Cooper introduced her to a corset, but she soon discovered her character’s style while working with Cooper.
16. Fran’s signature heel is a 4½-inch pump by Charles Jourdan. Cooper bought all the shoes that JCPenney had in Drescher’s size and dyed them to match her outfits on the show.
17. Drescher can’t pick a favorite outfit, but she did love the black turtleneck with the hot pants, as well as whenever Fran went down the stairs in a gown.
18. The series put Fran in a lot of designer clothes, and Todd Oldham actually worked with the show and lent it pieces.
19. According to Cooper, the show used a lot of Moschino and Oldham because pieces from these designers had “a sense of humor.”
Is there a look on The Nanny that you just need to know the story behind? Share your thoughts below!
